Porky's Poultry Plant

Porky's Poultry Plant is a 1936 Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin. The music was composed by Carl Stalling. It was released on August 22, 1936. It is most noted for its dramatic camera angles and filmic techniques typically seen in live-action movies, something Tashlin specialized in.

Credits

• Supervision: Frank Tashlin (credited as Frank Tash)
• Animation: Don Williams and Volney White
• Musical Direction: Carl Stalling

Synopsis

Porky Pig is running a poultry plant named Porky's Poultry Plant. First, chickens, geese and ducks come out for a bright sunny morning. One little chick is trying to get some chicken feed, but everywhere he goes all the other chickens devour them and soon Porky winks at the little chick breakfast, Porky pretends to throw chicken feed but gives it to the chick, making him fat and all the other chickens are jealous and angry at him. Soon, Porky is weeping while looking at sad chicken-hawk kidnapping photos, due to the chicken-hawk capturing his chickens. Soon, a real chicken-hawk shows up and every bird hides except the little chick. When the chicken-hawk is gone, one chicken realizes one of her chicks are gone. Porky and all the birds see that it is the little chick that has been kidnapped by the chicken-hawk. Porky goes on his Air Force airplane and tries to shoot the chicken-hawk to get the chick back. Later, other numerous chicken-hawks go after Porky and the little chick. Soon, the chicken-hawks turn the tables on Porky by breaking away his airplane gun. Then, the main chicken-hawk holds Porky while other chicken-hawks bite him on the tail. Porky manages to get the little chick back and the chicken-hawks die of lung disease when Porky speeds up his airplane's gasoline into the chicken-hawks and when the hawks fall down,the chickens dig a hole to bury them, making Porky and the chickens the winners of the battle.

Debuts

• This was Frank Tashlin's first cartoon with Warner Brothers as a director^[1]. He had briefly been an animator with the studio in 1933, but left after a dispute with Leon Schlesinger over rights to a comic strip Tashlin had created. He would stay with the studio until 1938, departing to become a writer for Disney, but would return once more in 1943.
• This cartoon also marked the debut of Carl Stalling as musical director^[1]. He came to Warner Brothers from the Ub Iwerks studio, and would stay for over twenty years.

Availability

This short is on the 4th Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD box set on Tuesday, November 14, 2006.

References